Flexible shaft-coupling



I w. R. Fox. -LEXlBLE SHAFT COUPLING.

APPLICA I HIJN FILED FEB-18.1919. 1,304,758. Patented May 27, 1919. Y

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WILLIAM ROSS FOX, or JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

, FLEXIBLE seem-counters.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. Fox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, Michigan, have invented certain.

new and useful Improvements in Flexible Shaft-Couplings, of which the following is a s ecification. I

he invention is designed for use in multiple drilling machines in which a number of flexible shafts are employed to drive the drills and it is desired to economize space by keeping the, diameter of the fiexible' shafts and their universal joints down to a minimum.

upon t at disclosed in application for Letters Patent of the United States renewed December 15, 1917, Serial #206,852, and

application filed February 20, 1917, Serial #149,795.

-As in therapplications referred to I employ in my improved construction a universal" joint comprising a pairof members having forks engaging the core of a ball which is provided with circumferential grooves extending at ri ht angles to each other and receiving the iorks which are thus connected by the ball but are adapted to assume any necessary angular relation to each other, the ball transmitting 'motlon from one to the other.

. pointed'out in the claims.

In the drawings: r Figure 1 is a sidevlew of the universal joint complete.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the coupling members with the outer sleeves in section. I

Fig. 3 is a view at a quarter-turn. from Fig. 4 is a side view of the fork member which has the gateway. I

Fig. 5 is a plan vievv of the member of Fi 4. u

'Fi 6 is a side view of the other fork mem er, 2'. e., the one which has no gateway.

Fig. 7 is a view of the ball. Fig. 8 is a side view of a blank from which the fork of Fig. 4 is formed.

Specification of Letters Patent.

My present invention is an improvement v Fig. 9 is a side. view of the blank from which the forkof Fig.6 is formed.

In these drawings 1 is the ball having the grooves 2, 2, at right'an les to each other leaving. a core 3, with cylindrical surfaces 3 and having fiat spots at the points where the groove intersect, one of which is shown at 3".-

The couplin%members are indicated enerally at A, Each comprises a ork portion marked respectively a, b and body portion, a, 6?, each body portion being cylindrical. I I

The fork portions are adapted in thicknose to fit the circumferential grooves of the ball and they are retained in place by their are shaped inner edge. engagin the cylindrical surfaces at the bottoms o' the grooves of the ball. l

One of the fork members is provided with 'a gateway 4.- which permits the other member to be turned to a'positionfat ri ht angles to the first mentioned member, e-.

Patented May 27, 1919. Application filed February 18, 1919. Serial No. 277,760.. I

extending about the same cause the gateway will receive one of the prongs of the fork portion and the mem bers may be separated from each other by withdrawing the member which has been turned, the fiat spots of the-ball permitting this to be done.

This gateway tends to weaken the fork and to compensate for this I'have devised the construction as now will be described.

As an example I take as a basisof computation a coupling member-whose cylindrical portion or shankis 1 'in diameter. The ball-I em 10 is say 5-" in diameter. I first form a biank as shown in Fi 8 with its shank ortion extendin ter to the line 5 of a eveled shoulder, this base line being located in relation to the center at m which is the 'oint the center of the ball is to occupy so t at it touches a the ful diameradial line 15 above the center. The lower line 6 of the' shoulder is at the level of the ball center. The lower reduced part of this dricalbottom portion .at the side of the '100 .blank is formed on a curve at 7 correspond- I fork and the metal of the body portion or shank of the fork is left intact reaching at 9 to the line 6 or slightly beyond the same. This reinforce extends beyond the level of the mouth of the gateway and reinforces the fork and compensates for any weakness which otherwise would exist due to the presence of thegateway, it being noted that at the base line 5 of the shoulder there 'is still a material thickness of metal between the plane of the outer surface of the shank and the plane of the curve defining the ball recess.

. These coupling members are supplied with sleeves 10 of an internal diameter equal to that of the external diameter of the shank and are forced thereon. These sleeves act as limiting stops to prevent the coupling members from assuming positions at right angles to each other, their adjacent edges coming together when a certain angular position is reached less than a right angle. The sleeves with this construction are of an internal diameter greater than that of the ball and thus additional space is provided for receiving and retaining lubricant.

The coupling member which has no gateway is formed with a fork portion which like that above described is of a diameter equal to that of the ball. The shank of this member is carried up of its full diameter only to the line 12 where it is provided with a beveled shoulder, the upper line of which is at or near the plane cut by the bottom of, the

ball recess formed by the circular cutter which leaves slight relnforcements at 13 but as this member has no gateway further reinforcing is not necessary.

I claim: 1. A coupling for flexible shafting comprising two members having cylindrical body or shank portions and 'fork portions,

one of the members having a gateway at the bottom of its fork opening to receive the other fork member, a ball having circumferentia'l grooves at rightv angles receiving said forks, said ball being of smaller diameing substantially in the transverse plane at ing an are shaped recess at each side of its fork portion of a radius equal to that of the ball, leaving the metal of the shank reaching up and reinforcing the member at each sideof the gateway, substantially as described.

2. A coupling for flexible shafting comprising two members, each having a cylin-' drical shank and a fork portion of reduced ,diameter with respect to the diameter of the shank, with are shaped recesses at the sides of the fork portion, a groove ball of'reduced diameter in respect to the diameter of the shank portion but equal in radius to that of the recess and fork portion, one of the members having a gateway at the base of its fork opening, the shank of saidmemberbeing carried up at eachside of said recesses and connecting by a shoulder with the, fork portion at about the level of the ball center,

substantially as described.

3. A coupling for flexible shafting comprising two members, each having a cylindrical shank portion and a fork portion of reduced radius in respect tothe radius'of the shank portion, a ball of reduced radius in respect to 'thatof the shank and substantially equal to that of the fork ortion, said ball .being grooved at right ang esto receive the fork, one of the forks having a gateway to permit the withdrawal or replacing of the other fork, each fork having a recess at its "sides corresponding in radius to that of the ball, and sleeves, one for each member carried by the shanks thereof and of an interbounded by terminal portions reaching up substantially to the plane of the ball center and the shank of the other member terminatthe periphery ofthe ball, substantially as described.

I In testimony whereof, I allix my signature.

-WILLIAM ROSS- FOX. 

